


Tail for a Tale

by cassunzels



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Moana (2016), The Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Secret Crush, ariel is extremely bi, moariel - Freeform, rated T for mild swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 18:37:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18675238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassunzels/pseuds/cassunzels
Summary: When Moana walks in on Ariel in mermaid form, the two exchange their backstories.





	Tail for a Tale

**Author's Note:**

> decided to revisit my plans for a disney university au and write this! im pretty proud of it, even if moana is a little out of character. i hope you enjoy!

“It’s a long story,” Ariel said, studying the teal scales on her fish-like tail. She’d sworn she would be alone when she snuck out to the pool that night, but evidently her secret was out as her classmate had walked in on her in mermaid form. 

 

“I have time.”

Ariel exhaled and subconsciously bit her nail. The redhead knew she couldn’t have shown someone her mermaid tail without telling her story. After all, Moana had already interrogated her and came to the conclusion that her tail was, in fact, real. 

 

With a deep breath, Ariel hoisted herself onto the edge of the pool. Despite her small stature and build, the young woman had quite a bit of upper arm strength, considering she can only use her tail as a substitute for legs so much.

 

“Well… I don’t really know where to start,” Ariel began. Moana responded to with a reassuring look. “I was born a mermaid.” Both girls gazed down at Ariel’s tail, and Ariel blushed. 

 

“So how’d you get here then? If I were a mermaid.. I couldn’t imagine ever leaving the ocean.”

 

“Actually.. I fell in love.”

  
Moana raised an eyebrow, which Ariel took as a cue to continue.

“When I was like, 16, this guy moved in near the ocean where my kingdom was-”

  
“ _ Wait _ . Hold up, Ari. Not only are you a mermaid, but you’re a fucking princess?”

 

Ariel blushed harder. “Y-yeah.. It’s not like I was gonna be queen, though! I have like, 6 older sisters, and I was always kind of an outlier anyway. I don’t think what I did was a surprise to anyone. I kind of.. hoarded human items.”

Moana snickered, so Ariel playfully smacked her leg. 

 

“Go on,” Moana said. The harsh lights of the indoor pool room reflected the light from the blue stone on Moana’s necklace. She wore a two-piece red & tan bathing suit, and Ariel thought it suited her well. Mostly Ariel couldn’t stop admiring Moana’s toned body, but she couldn’t quite tell if she wanted Moana or if she wanted to be more like her. 

 

“So, this family moves in near my kingdom, and they had a son my age. His name was Eric. He was drop-dead gorgeous, and uhh.. I fell super hard. I seriously obsessed over this dude!” Ariel pushed her bright red hair back as she spoke. “And.. I kind of… found a way to become human. For a price.”

Ariel clearly didn’t want to divulge, so Moana didn’t press it.

“Anyways, the guy ended up being a real jerk. I dated him for a few months, and I was really head over heels... But he ended up dumping me for this girl that went to her school. I think her name was Vanessa..?” 

 

Moana’s face scrunched up as Ariel detailed the break-up. “He sure sounds like a real douche, anyway.” 

 

Ariel solemnly nodded, but to Moana’s surprise, smiled. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m interested in someone else now, I think.” 

 

Before Moana had the chance to respond, Ariel continued her story. “So I went to the beach and cried like a baby. I didn’t know where to go. Eric’s family had taken me in. I kinda.. just slept there in the sand. I don’t remember how long I was there, but my dad found me.” Ariel sighed as she relived that morning. “He was really furious, especially when I ‘told’ him how Eric had dumped me for that chick. It took me a little while to realize that he wasn’t really mad at me, though. He turned me back into a mermaid and sent me back home.”

 

“I don’t really blame him,” Moana muttered to herself. After pausing to stretch her arms, Moana turned back to Ariel. “So what happened next? You’re here, right? Obviously your dad didn’t send you back to the ocean forever.”

 

Ariel bit her lip. “Yeah. I was really depressed for a while. I avoided everybody and I was always staying in my clamshell. If I wasn’t in my clamshell, I was in my grotto. My sisters noticed and they all talked to my dad. I guess my dad took pity on me? He was usually super strict, but everyone noticed how much I loved the land. Even without Eric.. I love learning about humans and the land they walk on!” Ariel’s signature grin returned as she remembered her passion for anthropology, and Ariel blushed when Moana smiled back. 

 

“My dad — he’s so awesome. He gave me the power to be both a human & a mermaid. As long as I have this necklace,” Ariel reached to touch her golden necklace, its single charm in the shape of a trident. “I can turn from mermaid to human at will.” 

 

As Ariel’s fingers touched her necklace, a bright light shone from her tail, so bright that Moana had to cover her eyes. When it ceased, Ariel’s teal tail was replaced with skinny legs, and Ariel’s teal scales had been replaced with a pair of sea green bikini bottoms. 

 

“Woah,” Moana gasped.

 

“Pretty cool, huh?” Ariel swooshed her bangs out of the way, giggling. The redhead stretched out her left leg, wiggling her painted toes. “I really love my legs. But sometimes I miss the sea, you know? When I get homesick I sneak out here to think about home.” 

 

Moana smiled. “I know how you feel.”

 

Ariel grinned. “When I was able to turn human, I straight up enrolled in human school. And they let me in! I don’t even know how I did it. I pretended I was an only child and that my dad was away a lot. I even became captain of the swim team! High school was so fun. I had the best of both worlds.” Ariel clasped her hands together as she looked off with a smile, remembering her teenage years. “But when senior year came, we started applying for colleges. It was ‘mandatory’, I think that’s the word.. I didn’t know where to go. I’d never been this far from home. But my teachers knew I loved ‘anthro-’ ‘anthropology’..—”

 

Moana couldn’t help but giggle at Ariel’s inability to pronounce her own major. “Shut up!” Ariel playfully defended herself, falling into a fit of laughter with her friend. It was such a small thing to laugh at, but they were so delirious from the mermaid story and the late of the night. They were both out of breath and clutching their own stomachs by the time Ariel had decided to continue her story.

 

“My teachers knew I loved humans and stuff. So they recommended this school. And.. I took marine biology because I wanted to be closer to home. It was so scary, but I’m glad I did. Because I met you! You’re such a great..”

 

Ariel paused as she placed her hand on Moana’s. She had not felt this electricity, had not had her heart beat so fast, had not experienced this excitement, since she met Eric. Sure, Ariel was prone to being lovesick a lot, crushing on many guys and girls throughout her years, but she felt totally, totally intoxicated by this feeling. The way Moana’s dark curly hair framed her face, the way she laughed, her boldness & the way Moana never gave up. Everything about Moana seemed perfect to Ariel. She had never met a woman — no, a person — more beautiful than her. But it was too soon, too much, Moana probably didn’t feel the same. After what felt like hours, Ariel finally settled on a word.

 

“..friend.”

 

“You, too! I’m so glad we have marine biology together. You’re such a great study buddy, now that I think about it. You’ve literally  _ lived  _ in the whole-ass ocean. I bet you make amazing scores on our exams.”

 

Ariel giggled. “Okay, okay, I told you my story! You gotta tell me yours! It’s only fair.”

 

Moana smirked and crossed her legs. “Well.. ever since I was little, I loved the ocean. A lot.” 

 

“Oh?” Ariel’s heart skipped a beat. Truly, the two were meant for each other.

 

“We lived on an island. My family and I. I lived with my dad, my mom, and my Gramma Tala. My parents.. weren’t very accepting of my love of the ocean.”

  
Ariel furrowed her brows. How could anyone not love the ocean? It was her home, so obviously the redhead was a little biased, but she couldn’t find a single reason why anyone would hate the ocean, other than... sharks, maybe?

 

Moana sensed Ariel’s confusion and explained further. “When my dad was really young, around our age, he was out swimming on our island with his best friend.” Moana fiddled with her necklace, a somber look on her face. “..my dad’s friend drowned. There was nothing he could do. He went to therapy years later and it turned out he had PTSD from the accident. I think seeing me want to go out into the ocean triggered those memories of it.” Moana sighed.

 

Ariel rubbed Moana’s shoulder, consoling her. “It wasn’t your fault..”

 

“I know.” The curly-haired girl took a deep breath before continuing. “My dad hated me going near the ocean. But my Gramma Tala? She encouraged it. I would sneak out at night and she sure as hell knew what I was doing, but she just told me to be careful with a wink. The weirdest part? I never had any accidents. Even when I went to the deepest parts, when I got too deep, too deep for me to swim back up, the ocean…. pulled me out.”

 

“Huh?” Ariel gave Moana a cute wide-eyed look of shock. Ariel always thought all humans could and would drown. But her crush — er,  _ friend  _ — having the ocean on her side? If Moana wasn’t Ariel’s soulmate, she would go back to her underwater kingdom and stay a mermaid forever.

 

“Weird, huh? It’s like it’s sentient. Sometimes the ocean’s like a little puppy dog!”

  
“..Can the pool do it too?”

  
Moana snorted. “No, dummy! Ari, you’re such a goof. That’s why I love you.”

 

Ariel blushed. “Did your dad ever let you play with the ocean, or did you disobey him forever? I disobeyed my dad a lot when I was a kid. He’d always get real mad, but I couldn’t help myself!”

  
Moana looked down at her lap, obviously trying to fight back tears. “Actually.. Gramma Tala died when I was 16. It was so sudden. She was all I felt like I had. The ocean… the ocean was the only thing that made me happy. I.. I didn’t listen to my dad much after that.”

 

Ariel hugged Moana. She, too, had felt the pain of a sudden loss before. Remembering the death of her mother still stung the naive girl’s heart. The redhead rubbed circles into her friend’s back, hoping it would console her as she cried. “Shh.. it’s okay, Moana..” 

 

After a few minutes, Moana had gotten it out of her system. She broke apart from Ariel’s hug and wiped her tears. Ariel hoped Moana hadn’t noticed how loud her heart was beating from how close they were.

 

“It’s okay.” Moana repeated. “It has a happy ending. My dad came around and I got his blessing. I decided I would study to become an oceanographer. The ocean is my friend, I’d love to know more about it.” 

 

“Ooh! I think if I were born human, I’d probably wanna study the ocean too!” 

 

Moana smiled at Ariel, before checking the time on her phone. 

  
“Jesus, it’s getting late. We should probably go back to our dorms.”

 

“Aww. We didn’t even get to swim..”

 

“I’m sorry, Ari. Maybe another time. I don’t want either of us to be late for our classes tomorrow.”

  
Ariel huffed as Moana turned to walk out. It was now or never. Ariel felt closer to Moana than ever before, and was anxiously wringing her hands. Now or never, now or never, said the voice in Ariel’s head. 

 

“Hey, Moana!” Ariel shouted, startling her friend. “Do you like sushi?”


End file.
